martha raddatz, as we said, traveling with the secretary of state. thank you so much for joining us right now. >>> and we have a note, now, about the uncertainty in ukraine, causing a trampoline effect on the markets here at home. last night, stocks were in a freefall. tonight, a giant rally. the dow up 227 points. the single-best day on wall street all year, reportedly based on a sense that the crisis is, for the moment, not moving closer to war in ukraine. >>> and we move, next, to the brutal cold covering the eastern half of this country. and tonight, the map showing arctic air, pushing its way into the south. march is setting new records with the lowest temperatures in 100 years. and abc's alex perez, tonight, has the people struggling the most. and some of them, making a fortune on the freeze. >> reporter: mother nature's march madness. raleigh, north carolina, cars flipped upside-down and skidding on icy roads. in arkansas, along this interstate near the tennessee border, a truck accident backed up traffic for miles passengers stranded overnigh

abc's martha raddatz reports from paris. >> reporter: flash points in a red hot crisis. after putin's forces took over part of ukraine, thousands of demonstrators showed the world their support for russia storming past riot police to take over a government building. to the south in crimea, a similar scene, a mob of armed men threatening richard serry with a crowd bearing russian flags chanting behind them before ordering the official to leave crimea. america trying to find a way to end this dangerous standoff. one hope here at these talks in paris, get the russians and ukrainians to eventually meet face to face, that did not happen. >> i don't think any of us had an anticipation that we were suddenly going to resolve that here this afternoon. >> reporter: the bigger goal, convince putin that his advance into crimea was bad enough, but advancing further, ignoring a nation's borders would bring the wrath of the world. but after a day of diplomacy, all russia really agreed to was to talk further. >> i'd rather be where we are today than where we were yesterday. >> reporter:

and martha raddatz has the news about what is next, tonight. >>> body blow. a defeat for the people challenging military commanders on their authority over sexual assault in their ranks. >> this problem isn't even close to being solved. >>> and desperate to stop her. >> she's talking about jesus. and that there's demons in my house. and that i'm trying to control her but i'm trying to keep them safe. >> tonight, the story behind those pictures. the people who tried to keep that mother from putting her children at risk. >>> and a good evening to you on this thursday night. we begin with a fast and unpredictable developments in the showdown with russia. today, president obama's challenge to russia's invasion of ukraine, and deploying fighter jets to the region. russian president vladimir putin, digging in. and there is word, tonight, that the two of them have spoken. but all of this is creating new concern that the world's superpowers are being pushed into a dangerous corner. and abc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, on the crisis and what i

abc's chief global affairs correspondent, martha raddatz, in paris, tonight, for those critical talks. >> reporter: falshpoints in a red-hot crisis. after putin's forces took over part of ukraine, today, thousands of demonstrators showed the world their support for russia, storming past riot police to take over a government building. to the south, in crimea, a similar scene. a mob of armed men threatening u.n. envoy richard serry, with the crowd carrying russian flags chanting behind them. forcing the official to leave crimea. america tried to find an end to the dangerous standoff. one hope, here at these talks in paris. get the russians and ukrainians to eventually meet, face-to-face. today, that did not happen. >> i don't think any of us had an anticipation that we were suddenly going to resolve that hear this afternoon. >> reporter: the bigger goal, convince putin that his advance into crimea was bad enough. but advancing further, ignoring a nation's borders, would bring the wrath of the world. but after a day of diplomacy, all russia really agreed to was to talk further. >> i'd ra

thank you, martha raddatz. >>> now back here at home, if you're in the part of the country getting a taste of spring, stay alert, a new winter storm is gatherring in the south, thunderstorms, hail, even tornadoes, and across the midwest, it will bring snow, hitting the east coast just the start of the week and st. patrick's day/ >>> now to oscar pistorius as he stands charged for murdering his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. an impossible ending for a couple that once dazzled on the red carpet, even as their story was counting down to that deadly night, and abc's matt gutman with new pictures from the courtroom today. >> reporter: this is what oscar pistorius looked like the minutes after he shot reeva steenkamp in the bathroom. shocking courtroom, admitting police lost key evidence. starting with the gun pistorius used to shoot his lover on valentine's day last year, when the investigators climbed these stairs to the room. >> he put the magazine back. >> reporter: but not before he wiped the pistol, the alleged murder weapon, that same night pistorius' two $5,000 watches disappeared. it

martha raddatz reporting in tonight. thank you, martha. >>> now, back here at home, a rude awakening for millions of people on the west coast. an earthquake delivered a strong jolt when it rolled across los angeles early this morning. the 4.4 magnitude did not do much damage. but scientists say, for the first time, a new warning signaled it was coming. here's abc's nick watt. >> reporter: bottles and cans flew off store shelves. pictures fell from walls, glass shattered. and local anchors took cover. >> earthquake. we're having an earthquake. >> we did have an earthquake. a fairly large one. >> i think the epicenter was under my bedroom. >> reporter: a little kid told me he thought a monster was shaking his bed. no injuries were reported. and no major damage. but this was one of the biggest shocks to his l.a. since the aftershocks of the northridge quake, which killed nearly 60 people back in 1994. >> i think it's good preparation for the real one that might be coming. >> reporter: this morning, seismologists say a proto

. >>> i want to bring in martha raddatz working her sources.t seems a shift in tone with secretary kerry now saying all options on the table and now his trip. >> reporter: absolutely, david. there have been so many warnings hurled at russia during this incredibly intense standoff. warnings that there will be consequences, there will be costs on "this week," secretary of state john kerry with very strong words for vladimir putin. >> russia has engaged in a military act of aggression against another country and it has huge risks. it's a 1h century act in the 21st century. the president is currently considering all options. they're all on the table. >> all on the table. what are we learning about that hour and a half phone call between president obama and president putin? >> reporter: he did spend 90 minutes on the phone telling putin to pull his forces back. none of the warnings seems to have done any good. putin has sent in reinforcements, a senior administration official just a ru troops are clearly settling in. so right no you have the russian

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> a 20-year-old california student is in federal custody facing a terrorism charge. prosecutors say nicholas teausant was arrested near the canadian border on his way to syria to join islamic extremists. the fbi says during its investigation, he told an informant about his plan to attack the l.a. subway system. teausant enlisted in the national guard, but he failed to meet academic requirements. >>> a police photographer who was at oscar pistorius' home the morning of reeva steenkamp's death is being cross-examined this morning. on the stand yesterday he claimed nothing at the scene was tampered with as investigators began their work. also a gun expert testified yesterday about pistorius' love of firearms. he said pistorius asked him to purchase several weapons for him including an assault rifle and three shotguns. >>> the army general accused of sexually assaulting a female subordinate will be back in court today for a sentencing hearing. while detailing his guilty plea deal to a military judge, jeffrey sinclair seemed to choke up, his first publ

i want to bring in martha raddatz in washington d.c.e forecast even on monday when the president announced his first set of sanctions. i asked you then when they presumed the effect of this would be. you thought that we would see this day. this day has come now just five days later. how effective can we expect this new set of sanctions to be? >> reporter: as you remember, josh, talking earlier in the week, those sanctions didn't seem to bite at all, in fact, the russians basically laughed them off, brushed them off. these clearly are tougher, aiming, the president said, not only at key individuals who are close to putin but also the bank and also key sectors of the economy. the one thing i would worry about here, because the administration has made it very clear they will keep increasing sanctions if putin doesn't make a move, move back, and certainly not go into eastern ukraine. i worry that putin will see how far he can go, what is the next step, what will they do next, how far can i go, because he has shown no sign whatsoever of step

martha raddatz, more on the crisis in ukraine. >> reporter: flashpoints in a red-hot crisis. their support for russia. storming past riot police to take over a government building. to the south, in crimea, a similar scene. a mob of armed men threatening u.n. enjoy richard serry. with a crowd bearing russian flags chanting behind him before ordering the official to leave crimea. america, trying to find a way to end this dangerous standoff. one hope, here at these talks in paris, get the russians and ukrainians to eventually meet, face-to-face. today, that did not happen. >> i don't think any of us had an anticipation that we were suddenly going to resolve that here this afternoon. >> reporter: the bigger goal, convince putin that his advance into crimea was bad enough. but advancing further, ignoring a nation's borders, would bring the wrath of the world. but after a day of diplomacy, all russia really agreed to was to talk further. >> i'd rather be where we are today than where we were yesterday. >> reporter: the americans will continue to try to negotiate with russia and the

i'm martha raddatz, so much to

and martha raddatz has the news about what is next, tonight. >>> body blow. a defeat for the people challenging military commanders on their authority over sexual assault in their ranks. >> this problem isn't even close to being solved. >>> and desperate to stop her. >> she's talking about jesus. and that there's demons in my house. and that i'm trying to control her but i'm trying to keep them safe. >> tonight, the story behind those pictures. the people who tried to keep that mother from putting her children at risk. >>> and a good evening to you on this thursday night.

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> at komo tv, our abc affiliate in seattle, they are mournings after the station's helicopter crashed near the city's famous space needle. the fully fueled chopper was lifting off from the station's roof when it suddenly dropped to the street below and exploded. komo photograph erbil strothman and pilot gary pfitzner were killed. a driver on the ground was severely killed. >>> >>> in iowa a state trooper was parked off interstate 80 when a pickup careened off and slammed into his squad car. that pickup had been hit by a semi truck and the force sent it airborne. amazingly the trooper and pickup driver didn't suffer any injuries. >> incredible video. >>> toyota ready to accept a huge settlement with the department of justice. abc news learned prosecutors have been investigating the company for years over cars that suddenly sped up. they want to know whether toyota misled investigators about what the company knew. the company will pay hundreds of millions to avoid criminal charges. >>> the same investigators are pursuing general motors over a defe

. >>> let's get quick analysis with martha raddatz and republican congressman, adam kinzing kinzinger, member of the house foreign affairs compete. martha, you heard the secretary say boycotting the sochi summit a distinct possibility. and everything economic and military on the table. but you have been working your sources. what is realistically possible, what options are really being considered and will they make any difference? >> it's very clear the options are limited, george. you don't to want provoke putin, but you do want to be strong. we imagine putin as a hammer- handed old bear, but russians are very good at chess. he knew the reaction of the world and he took that risk. major russian interests are there in crimea, including the military bases. the threat of not coming to the g8, i can't imagine he's all that concerned. he's also heard u.s. threats before and nothing happened. nothing happened to stop in crimea. it's a fragile government with financial woes. will he stop there? we don't know. and as tery pointed out, russia troops are still in georgia and he still got the o

martha raddatz tonight. expressing freedom of speech. >> she did indeed. china has some toughest restrictions on the internet but the first lady told a group of chinese and american students that unfettered access to the internet is crucial because quote, that's how we discover the truth. here's more of what she said. >> time and again we have seen that countries are stronger and more prosperous when the voices of -- and opinions of all citizens can be heard. >> reporter: of course, mrs. obama is not the first lady to take on issues. while in china her two predecessors laura bush and hillary clinton. both pressing issues like human rights and democracy during their trips to china. but this made headlines because the white house had said mrs. obama would shy away from political issues but access to the internet is very much a hot button issue particularly among the young people of china. i suspect some of them welcomed the comments. >> thank you. and martha is filling in for george right here on abc's this week. >>> we move on and to the major weather headl

martha raddatz has more. president had a blunt phone call with president putin last night. >> reporter: blunt indeed. president obama telling putin this vote is illegal and will never be recognized by the u.s. but for now, it seems putin has gotten exactly what he wanted from this vote. now the question is, what more does he want? jubilation this morning for the overwhelming majority of crimeans who voted to join russian federation. >> i'm russian. i want to live in russia. it's a real holiday, it's a real event. it's one of the most important days in all my life. >> reporter: but the white house is rejecting the referendum, saying it was administered under threats of violence and intimidation from a russian military intervention that violates international law. and now, the u.s. is all but promising to hit putin where it hurts. vowing economic and diplomatic sanctions. against russia. >> i think he marched into crimea because he didn't believe the united states and europe would take a chunk of flesh out of h

abc's global affairs correspondent martha raddatz, on the russians talking tough tonight. >> reporter: tonight, joy in the streets of moscow. thousands strong. bellowing the russian anthem, welcoming crimea back to fatherland russia. this, after their leader, vladmir putin, basking in his moment said crimea will soon be theirs. we have already achieved much, he said. there is even more to do. we shall prevail because we are united. glory to russia. putin, blasting the united states for behaving rudely, irresponsibly and unprofessionally in ukraine. saying the u.s. had crossed a line. he accused america of hypocrisy. of applying power against sovereign states, a clear reference to iraq. the u.s. shot back. secretary of state kerry calling putin's moves dangerous. >> nobody doubts russia's interests in crimea. but that doesn't legitimate just taking what you want because you want it. or because you're angry because the end of the cold war or the end of the soviet union. >> reporter: putin, a former kgb officer, was shaped by the cold war, watching his soviet union collapse from this to

i want to bring in abc chief global affairs correspondent martha raddatz, last year tonight, we reported on putin laughing off those sanctions, imposed by president obama, any sign tonight that putin is feeling the pain? >> on paper it seems like it. the russian stock market is weaker, but absolutely nothing has changed in terms of what putin has done in crimea or what he might do next. in fact, the number of troops on the border of ukraine is steadily increasing by the day. 20,000 to take parts of eastern ukraine and they could do it with little or no warning. >> and that's the big question, so what are your sources telling you, martha, how likely is it that putin will go further on this? >> they're saying it's a spring military exercise. but they're saying the u.s. is very skeptical of that. lots of worry, david. >> martha, thank you. martha will have much more, she's in for george this weekend, sunday, right here on abc's "this week." >>> we turn now to the images making headlines out of china, tonight, first lady michelle obama and the surprise greeting the chinese president unexpect

ukraine's acting foreign minister today told abc's martha raddatz that chances of war are very high. >> we don't know what putin has in his mind and what will be his decision. that's why this situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be a week ago. >> reporter: top russian officials including president putin have repeatedly insisted they have no plans to invade eastern ukraine, but after russia's takeover here in crimea, there is very little trust between washington and moscow. david? >> all right, thank you, alex. >>> meantime, the first lady tonight still in china, after making headlines this weekend, calling for unfettered access to the internet. in a country where there's no facebook, no youtube. well, tonight, new images of mrs. obama and her daughters sasha and malia there, as they walked a stretch of the great wall outside beijing. looking out into the scenic valley there. later this week, they'll visit china's giant panda research center, as well. >>> we turn next here to a former first lady and a potential presidential candidate. hillary clinton, her husband

and martha raddatz hosting "this week."ood morning. >> good morning. >> and president obama is getting heat from the republicans for his handling of the crisis. read you comments. john mccain saying it's feckless. congressman mike rogers said they are playing chess and we are playi ining marbles. is this fair criticism or partisanship? >> there are midterm elections coming up, and we have partisanship. and president obama has been criticized for his foreign policy. but i traveled with secretary of state john kerry throughout the region in ukraine and paris, and he was pretty much working non-stop trying to connect with all the world leaders. but what he really wanted to do is get the russians and the ukrainians together. that did not happen. and that really has to be a first step as they try to figure this out going forward, bianna. >> what are the options for the u.s. at this point? >> as far as we know, all they are saying is we to want deescalate, de-escalate. they will put more sanctions on russia. they're trying to get

abc's martha raddatz is following the developments. >> reporter: the crisis escalating with dizzyingof chess, pro-russian authorities pushed crimea's parliament to call for a vote to officially become part of russia. the u.s. calls that illegal and moves forward with sanctions. the russians, tightened their grip on crimea, sealing the borders and using az sunken ship to block a port. the u.s. sends fighter jets to the region to help anywnato mon the skies. president obama gave a hastily prepared warning to the russians to send their troops back to barracks. >> 2014, we're well beyond the day when borders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders. >> reporter: but whatever warning the president gave, vladimir putin has heard them before and keeps playing this dangerous game without fear. no matter what the u.s. or the world does. the u.s. is left to react to putin's moves, which are mysterious. so much so, in the past the pentagon has even analyzed the russian leader's body language, trying to predict what he'll do next. all this pril fresh talks in europe between secretary

. >> yes, check in with martha raddatz hosting "this week" and has a quick preview for us. >> good morning, dan and bianna, we have the oracle of espn, nate silver with us today breaking big news about his predictions for november. even the president can't stop talking about him and his remarkable ability to predict the future. remember silver's the one who correctly foresaw all 50 states in 2012. a closer call this time. but nate will reveal his exclusive big projection. will the republicans take the senate in november? that ahead on "this week." >> a great show, and much more coming up later on abc's "this week." >>> and a frightening sight at a popular circus. a trio of enormous elephants in costume breaking loose from their handlers in st. louis and going on a rampage in a parking lot. ryan lewis is here with the story. sounds like something out of a movie. >> absolutely. good morning. and imagine being ready to go to the circus with three elephants coming straight towards you. it wasn't part of the show. two circus patrons saw this happen right before their eyes and caught it on tape.

ukraine's acting foreign minister told abc's martha raddatz that chances of war are very high. >> we don't know what putin has in his mind and what would be his decision. that's why the situation is becoming even more explosive than it used to be. >> reporter: top russian officials including president putin have repeatedly insisted they have no plans to invade eastern ukraine but after russia's takeover here in crimea, there is very little trust between moscow and washington. alex marquardt, crimea. >>> oscar pistorius expected to take the stand in his own defense this week. prosecutors say they will call for four or five more witnesses before wrapping up their case. that means pistorius could be testifying by wednesday. >>> the obama administration and its opponents are squaring off before the supreme court in the latest battle over health care. the high court is hearing arguments tomorrow in a religious-based challenge from employers who object to paying for contraceptives. abc's jeff zeleny takes a look. >> reporter: hobby lobby sells arts and crafts at more than 500 locationses a

martha raddatz, abc news, washington. >>> to politics now.ning for a seat in louisiana. he served four terms in governor as that state and eight years in prison for racketeering. he said there is nothing in the constitution that stops a felon from holding a seat in congress. >>> arch patron and benefactor rachel bunny mellon died. she was born to wealth and married paul mellon. possibly the richest man in the world at the time. bunny's passion was gardening. her friend, jackie kennedy, had her redesign the white house's rose garden. her support for john edward presidential run led her to give him a small fortune that he used to hide his mistress. bunny mellon was 103 years old. >>> we are learning new details about fashion design eer l'wren scott. police in new york are treating her death as suicide. saying there are no signs of foul play. so far there is no suicide note but this morning reports out of the uk say her design business was failing and she was more than $6 million in debt. >> l'wren scott seemingly lived life at the top. mick jag

i'm martha raddatz, so much to get to today. including stats whiz nate silver of fivethirtyeight. we have a first look at his exclusive analysis of the midterm elections. >>> but we begin oversees with malaysia air flight 370. as we come on the air this morning, the search for wreckage is intensifying. focusing on this area where satellites spotted what might be debris. but two weeks in, what happened to flight 370 is a mystery. we all want answers. we have complete coverage of the search for answers, beginning with abc david wright who just stepped off a search plane out scanning those waters. david joins us now from pearce air base in australia. >> reporter: good morning. we spent ten hours aboard the plane, coming back empty handed. the crew had high hopes, the assigned search area adjusted because of the chinese satellite image. a few radar contacts, but no visual confirmation of anything significant except for a whale. visibility was very poor because of low-lying clouds. today the french provided investigators with what they say is another satellite photo showing possible de

martha raddatz and terry moran both on the scene. ha in paris in the middle of high-stakes diplomacy. good morning, martha. >> reporter: good morning, george. there is a meeting today between john kerry and russia's foreign minister. it should be tense and frank especially after that provocative missile launch. was it a routine missile test or blatant show of force? that is the question many in the international community are asking this morning after russia's intercontinental ballistic missile launch tuesday, a test fire launched over the caspian sea landing in a remote part of kazakhstan. u.s. officials say the missile test had been planned well before the unfolding crisis in ukraine. calling it a previously notified and routine test launch of an icbm. >> it's time we woke up about vladimir putin. it's time that this administration got real. >> reporter: all this frenzy coming on a day full of diplomatic meetings. secretary kerry met with the acting ukrainian president and prime minister in hopes of easing tensions while firmly cond

martha raddatz is there. any reaction yet to the comments from president putin?l the way over on plane, george, secretary kerry was talking to the staff about deescalating the situation. calming things down. he brought an aid package. he arrived and hears about the comments putin made. i followed secretary kerry through the scare of the fallen, shouti ining several times, do have a reaction to what president putin said? he basically turned away and kept walking. i think we'll hear reaction later today. this is not what he wanted to hear. now they're in a dangerous game of chicken, while the united states is trying to calm things down and keep the you people down. >> it could be tough to get sanctions in place for this invasion? >> reporter: it could. they have the $1 billion loan assistance guarantee. on the plane, senior administration officials talked about sanctions. they said they would probably bring sanctions or try to bring sanctions within days, not weeks. they said something else. they will calibrate the response. the u.s. and nato will calibrate the res